When the San Francisco 49ers were making their cuts to trim their roster to 53 men, the team decided that it would do nothing with wideout Brandon Aiyuk and left him on the reserved/left squad list.
Until Aiyuk applies for reinstatement and shows up at the Niners’ facilities, the team doesn’t have to do anything other than keep him on the reserved/left squad list. So for now, the wideout is making the decision process for the 49ers a simple one.
The Niners are already in Australia as they prepare for their Week 1 game on Sept. 10 against the Los Angeles Rams; Aiyuk is an afterthought even though he was making noise early in the summer to force a move to the Washington Commanders.
Nonetheless, that didn’t lead to anything, and to make matters worse for Aiyuk, the Commanders signed Stefon Diggs during training camp. As a result, former 49ers wideout Terrell Owens issued stern advice to Aiyuk if he wants to get his NFL career on track.
“Whatever’s going on with him, whatever happened with him and management with the 49ers, is very unfortunate,” Owens said during a Sept. 4 appearance on 95.7 The Game. “The things that he’s done from a social media standpoint, that hasn’t boded well for him. It’s a recipe for disaster; I think he’s self-destructing.
“It’s been counterproductive in whatever he’s trying to do or tried to do. He has to just reset. Whoever his team is, whoever is around him, somebody has to get to him and, like, yo, bro, reset. You have to get yourself back in order, get back to the person that he was prior to all of these things.”
Brandon Aiyuk’s Injury Might Have Played a Role In Behavior
Moreover, Owens believes that Aiyuk’s severe right knee injury, which included torn ACL and MCL ligaments in 2024, might have taken its toll on the player mentally. It’s because of that ordeal that Owens believes the 49ers wideout went down this wrong path.
“Injuries could have been playing a major part again because, when you get hurt and you’re trying to get back on the field and you’re not able to play to the level that you once did,” Owens added.
“Whatever went on prior to him getting back with the 49ers, the injuries, the rehab, all those things. I don’t really think money is an issue, as involved as you are as a player mentally. There are things that can go on with you that can derail you.”
49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk Gets Blunt Outlook on NFL Future
Owens was also blunt about Aiyuk’s NFL future: Unless he decides to hit the reset button and go through the reinstatement process so teams can see that there’s change after his social media tirades this summer, the wideout’s playing days could be over.
“No team is going to take a shot on him until they see that he’s in a better state of mind, mental state of mind,” Owens said. “Physically, we don’t even know what he can do just yet. We know he’s had enough time to rehab and get back on the field to play. We don’t know what he can do at this point. Right now, mentally, he’s not in a position to be on anybody’s roster.
“If somebody can get to him and he can stabilize himself and put himself in the right space and mind, and an organization can really see that, okay, he’s changed and this is a different person, then he can get himself in a position to be on the roster. But right now, nobody’s going to take a chance on him.”
Terrell Owens Has Stern Advice for Brandon Aiyuk After 49ers Decision